Minister for Health James Reilly last night said he would “bring all powers to bear” to change the way people are being treated in the State’s health system.
Dr Reilly made the remark as he announced plans to have the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) review the circumstances surrounding the deaths of four babies at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise over a six-year period.
He said he held separate two- hour meetings with three of the affected families over the weekend, who told him they felt “dehumanised” by the way they had been treated.
“It’s very clear to me that there were an awful lot of issues raised by the families which they found deeply upsetting – sometimes dehumanising – and I really believe there is no room for that in a modern health service that’s supposed to be patient-centred.”
Contributory factors
He also rejected claims that staffing and resource issues were contributory factors in the deaths. He said: "I don't believe staffing [or] resource issues are any excuse for failure to be able to read a CTG, as has been told to me by one of the families, or [for] turning the CTG machine down."
Heartbeat monitor
Referred to as a cardiotocograph, a CTG machine is a monitor strapped to a woman's abdomen during childbirth to record the baby's heartbeat, as well as the woman's contractions, and provide a visual record of the baby's wellbeing.
Hiqa, the independent health watchdog, is undertaking a governance review of the Midlands Regional Hospital, which is examining “safety and quality issues in line with the national healthcare standards” according to a spokesman. This review is unrelated to the deaths of the babies in the hospital.
Dr Reilly said yesterday he would ask Hiqa to conduct a wider review – but the exact nature and parameters will be informed by a report on the babies’ deaths from the chief medical officer in the Department of Health, Dr Tony Holohan.
It is understood Dr Holohan’s report – which Dr Reilly expects in weeks rather than months – will inform whether the Hiqa review will be a full statutory inquiry, such as that which followed the death of Savita Halappanavar in UCHG.
Comprehensive review
He said the report would be "a comprehensive review" in which the families would be "intimately involved".
They will also receive copies of it in advance of its release.
Earlier yesterday, one of the families, Mark and Róisín Molloy, were at Leinster House to meet members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children to seek an independent inquiry into the circumstances of the deaths.
The committee, which then met in private, called on Dr Holohan to present his report to them upon its completion. Committee chairman Jerry Buttimer said it was “urgent” the matter be dealt with in a timely manner “to reassure women” who are due to give birth.
